I might be a potato snob, but I do not like Funeral Potatoes. You know . . . the kind with frozen hash browns, canned soup & sour cream.

YUK!

If I’m really hungry I can force a few forkfuls down, but I’d rather save my calories for the Creamy Cheesy Potatoes or Potatoes Au Gratin. This recipe comes from the Lion House Christmas Cookbook. It’s one of my favorites. In fact . . . I think I have all of their cookbooks. You just can’t go wrong. The actual recipe calls for cooked ham and sometimes I follow this recipe to the T. Today, I simply topped it with crumbled bacon!

NOTE: With either recipe, you can also make it a main dish. Just take 4 to 6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts or boneless pork chops and dredge them in a dusting of flour. In a heavy skillet, melt margarine, butter, olive oil or Crisco oil and brown the meat on both sides, until it’s nice and golden brown. Just mingle those browned chops or breasts in the potatoes and Au gratin sauce or potatoes and whipping cream . . . before baking. The meat will be tender and delicious and it flavors the Au Gratin Potatoes perfectly!

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place potatoes, onion and 2 teaspoons salt in a large saucepan. Cover with water and bring to a boil. TURN OFF THE HEAT and let sit for 5 minutes, covered. DRAIN the water off the potato mixture and spread potatoes in a 9×13 inch glass baking pan; set aside.

Make a white sauce by melting margarine or butter in a heavy saucepan over medium heat. When the margarine or butter starts to foam, stir in flour to make a smooth roux. Cook and stir constantly until the roux is nice and smooth, about 30 seconds. Mix the milk, cream, salt and pepper together and slowly add the milk mixture to the roux. Stir this constantly until sauce has thickened nicely. Reduce heat to low and stir in cubed ham and half of the grated cheese. After the cheese has melted, pour sauce over the potatoes. Top with remaining cheese. Bake 40 to 45 minutes. Makes 10 to 12 servings.

NOTE: With either recipe, you can also make it a main dish. Just take 4 to 6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts or boneless pork chops and dredge them in a dusting of flour. In a heavy skillet, melt margarine, butter, olive oil or Crisco oil and brown the meat on both sides, until it’s nice and golden brown. Just mingle those browned chops or breasts in the potatoes and Au gratin sauce or potatoes and whipping cream . . . before baking. The meat will be tender and delicious and it flavors the Au Gratin Potatoes perfectly!

Well hey now! I like funeral potatoes. Maybe it’s simply because I grew up with them and my mom has a great recipe for them. But your potatoes… those are a whole different species. I can definitely see myself eating an entire pan of those babies.ReplyCancel

Oh dear goodness those look heavenly. We’re planning a BBQ for the 4th and I’m thinking these just might have to make an appearance. Thanks for sharing yet ANOTHER awesome looking recipe!! 🙂ReplyCancel

Hailey -06/13/2011 - 8:32 am

I, too, live in Idaho. I, too, am a potato snob! These look amazing! I will have to try them out…perhaps they will become my new “favorite” potatoes! Thank you SO much for continually making me smile with your fabulous recipes & beautiful photos! You’re simply the best. HaileyReplyCancel

I cover with foil for half of the baking time. The Lion house recipe doesn’t say whether to cover or not.
I also lower the dish to the bottom of the oven for the last 15 or 20 minutes. It will brown the bottom nicely.
JonnaReplyCancel

Tami -09/02/2012 - 9:49 am

I made these and even though they were “good”, I gotta say I like the “funeral potatoes” better. I guess I just prefer the taste of the condensed soup and sour cream over whipping cream.ReplyCancel

April -09/10/2012 - 9:44 pm

This looks yummy, can’t wait to try it, but I’m a little confused on adding the chicken/pork. You say to “mingle” it before you bake it. Does that mean add them to the dish and put everything in the over?ReplyCancel

Once you brown your chicken or pork chops, just layer them in with the cut up potatoes. Pour the cream over the top of all of it, season and then add the grated cheese to the top. Cover with foil then bake!
Oh Yum!